AI startup Holocron just raised $1.5M in pre-seed round

A new AI startup is making waves in DC’s data analytics scene.

DC-based Holocron Technologies just raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed round led by New North Ventures. Winklevoss Capital, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Fulcrum Venture Group, Sica Ventures, OneSixOne Ventures, FiDi Ventures, Syndicate 708 and DC’s Falcon Eclipse Ventures also took part in the round.

“We are excited to partner with Holocron Technologies, an inspiring new company that understands the power of ubiquitous open-source intelligence in identifying and understanding disruptive technologies and global technology trends,” New North Ventures said in a statement. “Holocron is harnessing AI to look over the horizon and inform decision-makers on risk mitigation and unique opportunities at an important inflection point in global innovation.”

Holocron did not respond to a request for an interview about the raise and the startup. According to a statement from the company, Holocron uses machine learning to monitor tech developments and generate reports and insights to provide “a comprehensive view of the science and technology information landscape.” The company pulls from open-source data and other public sources like social media sites and news articles.

With this round, a statement from Holocron said the company looks to “revolutionize knowledge security and domain awareness” in science and tech.

The company was founded in 2022 by CEO Tristan Yang, formerly of the US Special Operations Command; CTO Addam Jensen, formerly of Intel and Sandia National Laboratories; Glenn Shell of Raymond James; and Jared Edwards of Morgan Stanley. In addition to this raise, Crunchbase lists a $50,000 grant the company appears to have received from Ohio State’s inaugural President’s Buckeye Accelerator cohort.

“There’s all this chatter that goes on, from Twitter posts to news articles to financial data,” Jensen told Ohio State Alumni Magazine. “We’re working to take that massive amount of data, process the information through machine learning tools and give people a more refined output so they can take action on it.”